the baltimore orioles, do they pull out another extra inning marathon in the came that just ended a couple hours ago in seattle? it's way too early for this. good morning. i'm willie geist. this is "way too early." i'm glad you are up with us watching on msnbc or listening live on radio. you can e-mail me @waytooearly. text the word awake to 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes is a cram session for wednesday, september 19th. a lot going on today including paul ryan weighing in personally on the 47% comments.

plus, steven colbert says romney's statements were not stated eloquently. let's get to the news. live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. parents are dragging their kids out of bed, making lunches and packing backpacks as 350,000 students are allowed back into the classroom after union delegates voted to end the seven day walk out. the proposed deal calls for reforms on teacher evaluations. chicago public schoolteachers will get an average raise of 17% over the course of four years. mayor rahm emanuel called the settlement and honest compromise. the contract has to be ratified by the 25,000 members. that vote expected to happen

sometime within the nux few weeks. turning to politics where there's a new poll. "the new york times" and cbs news this morning from three battleground states that could help determine the presidential race. we talked about ohio and florida. let's not forget about wisconsin. rom the president holding on to a four point lead in virginia. in colorado, the polls show the president with a one point lead within the margin of error. president obama closed the gap on which president will best handle the economy. he leads romney in wisconsin and virginia. romney ahead by one point in colorado where he led by ten points we should point out in august. president obama is up by 13 among women in colorado. a majority of voters say

president obama is the candidate who most cares about their needs and problems. romney received lower marks saying the former massachusetts governor, not concerned. a new nbc wall street journal poll shows president obama benefiting from optimism on the economy and the direction of the country. the obama/biden ticket leaves romney/ryan among likely voters, 50% to 45% in a national survey. head-to-head. president obama's job approval reached the 50% mark. 48% disapprove of the job he's doing. on the direction of the country, 39% say the country is headed in the right direction. 55% say the wrong track. it's a seven point improvement from last month. on the economy, 42% say the economy will get better in 12 months. it's the highest number they

have seen in two and a half years. when asked which is better to handle the economy, president obama is tied with romney. this is the first time romney has not led on that question. this latest polling is after the u.s. embassy attacks. 49% approve of foreign policy. last month that number was 54. this poll was taken before the release of mitt romney's remarks of the florida fund-raiser where he claimed nearly half the country believes they are victims who don't pay federal income tax. last night, president obama was here in new york and sat down with david letterman where he discussed those remarks for the first time. >> well, i don't know what he was referring to. i can tell you this, um, when i won in 2008, 47% of the american people voted for john mccain,

they didn't vote for me. when i said on election night was even though you didn't vote for me, i hear your voices and i'm going to work as hard as i can to be your president. and, one of the things i have learned as president is you represent the entire country and when i meet republicans as i'm traveling around the country, they are hard working family people who care deeply about this country and my expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everybody, not just for some. >> mitt romney, meanwhile, not backing down from the remarks emphasizing his belief the federal government should not take from some to give to others. >> others said you kissed half the electorate good-bye this

election year. that you called them moochers. did you? >> no. i'm talking about individuals that i am not likely to get to support me. i recognize those people not paying income tax are going to say gosh, this provision mitt is talking ant, that's not going to be attractive to them. those dependent upon government and those who think government job is to redistribute -- i don't expect to get 60% or 70% of the vote. some will be the presidents. some will be mine. i have to get what i can from every cohort in the country. >> bill crystal joining a number of other republican and conservative voices in questioning romney's choice of words. a note on romney's arrogant and stupid remarks, it's worth recalling 47% of those who don't pay income taxes are romney

supporters as well as seniors and men and women who serve in the military who think conservative policies are better for the country even if they are not getting a tax cut under the romney plan. has there been a presidential race in modern times featuring two candidates who have done so little over their lifetime for our country and have so little substance to say for our country. paul ryan set out to clarify. >> he was inarticulate making this point. i think he would have said it differently, but the point stands we have too many people dependent upon the government because of the obama administration. >> the romney campaign has been touting their achievements taking out a loan to boost their cash flow. under law, they are not allowed to touch general election funds until they are nominated.

they first reported the story writes that the romney campaigns dollars were drying up and needed the money to compete with the president. some of that debt will appear in federal election reports are released. nothing is wrong. nothing about the law, just taking out a loan on the money because they couldn't use it until after the election. the baltimore orioles simply will not lose. especially in extra innings. they played the equivalent of two full games in seattle. highlights ahead in sports. mitt and ann romney pay a visit to michael 57bd kelly. the question that will decide the fate of the nation. snooki or honey boo boo. that and a check on the weather when "way too early" comes back.

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i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. welcome back to "way too early." it's 5:42 in the morning. this is a live look at the united states capital. let's get a look at the weather. hey, dylan. >> did you hear the storms. lightning and thunder and winds. wind gusts up to 40 to 60 miles per hour. anywhere from new england down to florida. it was a strong cold front. we are going to see things cool off now that the front is moving through. in the northeast, we are actually going to see the storms move eastward out over the

water. now it's a case of waiting for the sun to come back out. it will do. we'll lose the morning showers. temperatures are going to cool off. we have 50s back through albany. 60s in boston and down through washington, d.c., the 60s, too. as we go into the afternoon, today and tomorrow, it's going to take on the fall-like feel. temperatures in the 60s and 70s across the northeast. tomorrow, more of the same. lots of sunshine. we are done with the rain for awhile. there's not a lot going on across most of the country with high pressure building in. we are going to see a lot of areas enjoy a ton of sunshine. we have red flag warnings in the plains. it's dry. that's the only main weather concern. temperatures in the 70s through most of the area today. then, as we go into tomorrow, looking at highs to top out in the 60s. don't forget, next weekend, fall starts. it is going to start taking on the fall-like feel.

willie? >> i think we are ready for fall. thanks so much. time for baseball now. the orioles began the day a half game back of the yankees. yankees rained outlet. they played a doubleheader. for baltimore to reclaim a share they have to outlast the mariners in a game that ended about two hours ago. top of the ninth inning. os down two. two men on. chris davis comes through with a base hit past diving second base. that brings home a couple runs. they head to extra innings, tied at two. it stayed tied at two for the next three hours until 18 innings. taylor drops a base hit in the right. he's the hero. orioles add one. baltimores win a six-hour marathon, 4-2. even with the yankees. 18 innings.

yes, do the math, the equivalent of two full baseball games. this is their 14th consecutive win. that's the most since the indians won 17 straight in 1949. the yankees play the blue jays this afternoon then another one tonight. the os rest up and play the mariners this evening. cabrera, bases loaded. grand slam. bottom of the eighth inning there. second home run of the game for cabrera. tigers win big, 12-2. they are three back. five out in the wild card. drives one deep to left. wells thinks he's got a shot. oh! oh! really misread that one i have to say. he flips over the wall. he's okay. angels win, 11-3. they are two and a half out of the wild card race. when the pga tour

championship begins tomorrow in atlanta, the top two golfers in the world are teeing off together. they will take the course at 1:55 eastern time. it's the last tee time of the day. the match up, greg norman who held the top spot 96 weeks told foxsports.com says tiger is shaken up by mac el roy's ascension. what i'm seeing is the tigers intimidated by rory. he knows his time is up. it's normal. they tend to go in 15-year cycles. mcilroy won including in august. tiger woods has not won a major since the 2008 open. after starting the season ranked number eight, the razor backs open by losing to louisiana monroe.

they were blown out of their home stadium, 52-0. john l. smith in little rock felt the need to deliver a rousing pep talk to the press. >> let's go! you guys act like it. pick it up a little bit. get your chin up. smile. smile! okay? dang, you guy -- all right. >> oh, boy, i think they are losing it down there. >> steve sabol, the man who shaped profootball died yesterday at age 69 after a battle with brain cancer. his father ed founded nfl films. he won 40 emmys for cinematography.

he was awarded a lifetime emmy. the profootball viewing experience. the images here, they invented them. the super slow mo replay. the guys breathing in the trenches, setting highlights to music, putting microphones on players and coaches during the games. they did all that. they changed professional football. steve sabol is survived by his sons, wife and his father. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," a bunch of polls that look at the state of the race on the questions of the direction of the country and the battleground states that decide this thing. when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler to watch steven colbert over a more eloquent way romney could have delivered his comments. [ female announcer ] the power to become a better investor has gone mobile.

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t there.ble nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. - one serving of cheese is the size of four dice. one serving of cereal, a baseball. and one serving of fruit, a tennis ball. - you know, both parties agree. our kids can be healthier... the more you know. told you at the top of the show, president obama addressed mitt romney's comments about the

quote, 47% on letterman. since romney's remarks were made at a private fund-raiser, his schedule is under private scrutiny. if you want to sound smart, tell your friends in the last seven days during the home stretch of this race, romney held two public events. during that span, he's attended seven private fund-raisers. two days with no scheduled events at all. enough of the real news. let's huddle up to watch more of president obama's appearance on dave. he stopped by after a couple fund-raisers including one at the 4040 club with jaycee and beyonce. >> you look great. >> i feel good. >> how much do you weigh? >> you know -- about 180. >> 180 looks good on you. >> thank you. >> that's just about where i am

and i don't look so good at 1806789. >> you look sharp. >> you haven't seen me naked. >> we're gonna keep it that way. >> fair enough. i like that. i wanted to know, before we get started if you would like to say something to the empty chair? how do you feel your convention went? >> well, it was terrific except, as usual, people always realize how much better michelle is than me. so then i have to go through the whole week people saying boy, your wife she was really great. you were okay. welcome to my life. >> while the president was with dave earlier in the day, mitt romney and his wife 13 blocks north sitting down with kelly ripa and michael where they were asked rapid-fire questions.

>> what does mitt wear to bed. >> really? >> i didn't write the question, man. i didn't write the question. >> yes, he did. >> as little as possible. >> whoa! >> what is your biggest pet peeve with each other? >> he doesn't like the way i squeeze the toothpaste. >> oh, that's right. >> you don't go to the bottom? >> it's random. >> and she leaves the top off. that's right. >> she's busy. >> the most serious question of all -- honey boo boo or snooki? >> do you know who they are? >> i'm kind of a snooki fan. look how tiny she's gotten. she's lost weight and energetic. just her spark plug personality was fun. >> that's an earnest answer. i think he likes snooki. mitt romney said at a press

conference with the comments writing off 47% at a fund-raiser were not eloquently stated. steven colbert said how he could have stated it with more eloquence. >> i have agreed to accept the presidency, but unfortunately, almost half, two score and 7% will vote for my opponent. what could one do? these people are just greedy pair sites sucking on the withered teeth of lady liberty. how their hunger knows no bounds. winslow, bring me the shrimp. yes. there you go. thank you. thank you. now hold still. hold still. okay. there you go. there you go. see how they love it? see?

oh. oh, they crave it. it's so sad. take responsibility for your lives. come on, stop being a victim. winslow, take them away. they depress me and they smell like shrimp. out. out. >> i tell you what, if you are going to do something like that, that is as eloquent as it gets. how about the guy who caught it. did you see that? do we have it? no? no. there we go. no. nope. nope. t.j., you are the best. it was the first one of this sequence. anyhow -- still ahead on "way too early" why are you awake? your eloquent tweets, texts and e-mails are next. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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we asked you at the top of the show what you could be doing at the top of the hour. >> i'm awake with nightmares thinking of what m